The Growth of Korean Buddhism in the United States, With Special Reference to Southern California

by Eui-Young Yu

INTRODUcrrON

Since the Immigration Act of 1965 removed the severe restrictions on Asian immigrants. the

Korean population in the United States experi­enced an accelerated growth. The number of Koreans in the U.S. increased from about 70.000 in 1970 to more than 700.000 in 1988. Approxi­mately 33.000 Koreans immigrate to the U.S. annually. About one-third of all Koreans in the U.S . live in California. concentrated especially in Southern California. As of 1988. approximately 150.000 Koreans reside in Los Angeles and Or­ange counties.

There are approximately 400 Christian churches. 15 Buddhist temples. 150 secondary as­sociations. 32 newspapers. two television stations, and one 24-hour radio station serving Koreans in Southern California.' These organizations provide a basic network for the dispersed immigrants to interact with each other and form an associational community.' Their cultural and artistic activities are conducted through these organizations. They main lain strong ethnic ties and adhere to their linguistic and cultural traditions through these organizations.

Religious institutions play an especially im­portant role in the Korean community. A number of surveys conducted in Los Angeles, New York. and Chicago reveal that about 70 percent of Koreans are affiliated with Christian churches.' While the proponion of Buddhists is not clearly determined. a survey conducted in llIe Los Angeles Korean community in 1981 showed llIat 5.3 per­cent of llIe respondents identified themselves as

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such.' Do Ahn SUnim, a leading monk in the Los Angeles Buddhist community, estimates, how­ever. that about 15 percent of Koreans in Southern California are Buddhists. Korean churches in America. whether llIey are Christian or Buddhist, not only respond to the spiritual needs of llIe community but also perform a variety of secular functions.

Churches are llIe focal point of social inter­action for the majority of the immigrants and llIe center of their community life. Korean values and traditions are reinforced through church activities. Most large-size churches maintain Korean lan­guage and culture programs; worship and other church programs are conducted mainly in Korean. Buddhist temples, although small in number and membership compared to Christian churches, mainlain similar functions and activities.

There are three distinct paths by which Ko­rean Buddhism is being rooted in American soil. One is through the work of individual Zen teach­ers. They work on individual bases and their main targets are Westerners. Such activities began in 1964 when Sea Kyongbo Sunim came to visit America and started giving Dharma talks to small groups of people in the New York area. A few years later, in 1972. Seung Sahn Sunim began organized Zen activities in Providence. Rhode Island. Several other Zen masters have been par­ticularly active in spreading Korean Buddhism to American. Canadian. and European audiences.

Another method of spreading Buddhism has been IlIrough the activities of temples located in

cities where Koreans are concentrated. Since the first Korean temple appeared (in Carmel, Califor­nia in 1972), the number has since grown to sixty­seven with about 25,000 active members! The Won Kale Sa temple (Abbot: Bop An) in New York draws approximately 300 worshipers (one fifth of the 2,500 registered members) 10 its Sunday po­phoe.' Dae Won Sa in Honolulu also has 2,500 registered members.' The average attendance at Sunday pophoe at the Kwan Um Sa temple in Los Angeles is about 150. The temple has 670 regis­tered members. In Los Angeles, there are 15 temples that conduct their services in Korean and mainly serve the needs of first generation Korean immigrants.

The third path has been through research and teaching by scholars specializing in Korean Bud­dhism. These scholars are making contributions by writing books in English and teaching courses on Korean Buddhism in American universities. Sev­eral Ph.D.'s have been awarded 10 scholars spe­cialized in Korean Buddhism.'

KOREAN ZEN TEACHERS

Several Korean monks have actively en­gaged in promoting Korean Son (Zen: medilation) Buddhism in North America. Due 10 their efforts, the number of Zen centers (as well as the number of American and Canadian followers) has in­creased greatly in recent years. Their activities are all on an individual basis and there has been no coordinated effort between them. Although they all stress meditation, their approaches and empha­ses vary Significantly.

The Korean monk who started Zen teaching in America was Seo Kyungbo Sunim, who visited Columbia University in 1964 and Slayed in the counlI}' for six years. He moved from one city 10 another giving talks on Korean Buddhism. "I em­ployed a unique method of using the rented house as a temple site. So whenever I moved to a new place, I was able 10 meet more people and teach Buddha's messages 10 the American audience," he

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recalled.' Returning to Korea, he served as Dean of the Buddhist College at Dong Kuk University.

Since 1973 he has made frequent visits to America delivering Dharma talks to both Korean and American audiences. He also held numerous calligraphy exhibitions. He is President of the 11-Bung Zen Buddhist Association which coordi­nates activities of his affiliated groups. His Ameri­can disciples number approximately forty." His selected poems and Dharma talks have been trans­lated and published in the book, Zen Mind Buddha Mind (Seoul: Hoarn Cboolpan Sa, 1985, 135 pp.)

A disciple of Sea Kyung Bo Sunim, Kosung Sunirn, came to America in 1969 and has been active in the East Coast cities. Later, he established the Bulkuk Sa (now Hankook Sa) temple in the Washinglon D.C. area. In 1976 he eSlablished the Seneca Zen Center and American Zen College on a large property in Germantown, Maryland, serv­ing both the American and Korean fOllowers."

Master Kusan of Songgwang Sa made his first visit to the United States in order to inaugu­rate the Sambo Sa temple in Carmel, California, in 1972. Some of the American audiences he met on the trip returned with him to Korea 10 receive a traditional Korean Zen training. Later he eslab­lished the Bul-i1 International Medilation Center to coordinate the training activities of foreign follow­ers interested in the practice of Korean Zen. Since then scores of his foreign followers have under­gone Zen training in Songgwang Sa. In 1976, Nine Mountains, a collection of Master Kusan's Zen teachings, was published in Seoul." Another book, The WayofKoreanZenby Kusan Sunirn was pub­Iished in New Yorlc and Tokyo in 1985.

In 1980, he inaugurated the Korea Sa temple in Los Angeles as the first foreign branch-temple of Songgwang Sa. The temple mainly serves Koreans in Los Angeles. He also delivered many leclUres and speeches at universities and commu­nity gatherings. In 1983, he toured the United Slates and Europe delivering lectures and estab­lishing the Bulsung Sa temple in Geneva."

Samu Sunim (one of the two Dharma dis-

ciples of Solbong Sunim) carne to the United States in 1967 and established the Zen Lotus Society in New York in 1968. Later that year he moved to Montreal. In 1972, he moved to Toronto and after a three-year solo retreat in his basement apartment he began to teach Zen. The current membership in the Toronto temple is about 170 (mostly Americans). Children's pophoe is con­ducted once a month."

In 1981, Samu Sunim started a temple in Ann Arbor, Michigan." The director of the Ann Arbor temple is Sudha Sunim, a Canadian, who has been a Zen teacher for ten years. Two addi­tional Zen workers reside at the temple, which is a four-story building including the basement. The living room is used as meditation hall, and there is no Buddha hall in the temple." The membership of the Ann Arbor temple is about 70 (all Americans). Sunday pophoe is auended by 20 to 60 members on the ,,·erage. About twenty Korean students from the University of Michigan go to temple on Sundays and conduct their own pophoe (in Ko­rean) when Sarnu Sunim is there. The children's pophoe (which began six months ago) is conducted in English with an attendance of about eight to ten. The daily meditation sessions are attended by 10 to 12 persons on the average. According to Sukha Sunim, Samu Sunim emphasizes the development of American Buddhism rather than focusing on ethnic Buddhism, and the groups under Sarnu Sunim's leadership are called the North American Buddhist Order.

In 1984, Sarnu Sunim visited Mexico, and in the following year EI Centro Zen Loto de Mexico was born in Mexico City. The Mexican temple is directed by Doyun Sunim (Edith La Brely). Two additional Zen groups have recenUy been estab­lished in Mexico under the leadership of Samu Sunim, one in Moralia and another in Cuernavaca.

Samu Sunim serves as President of theZen Lotus Society, which functions as the umbrella organization for eight meditation groups under his leadership: Zen Buddhist Temple in Toronto, Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor, meditation groups

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in London (Ontario) and Ottawa, EI Centro Zen Loto de Mexico, and two other meditation groups in Mexico,l7

The Buddhist Institute of Canada, which was established by Sumu Sunim in Toronto, coordi­nates series of lecture and training sessions throughout the year. So far six people have com­pleted Dharma teacher training programs at the Institute and eighteen people are currently under­going the training. The training program at the Institute lasts between three to five years and consists of300-day meditation, study, and practice sessions each year. Instructors are mostly affiliated with McGill University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Michigan, according to Samu Sunim.

The Ann Arbor temple sponsors Summer Lectures that are attended mosUy by Americans. 111e instructors are poets, writers, and professors, many of who are affiliated with the University of Michigan."

In order to channel meditation to social ac­tion, Sarnu Sunim eslablished the Buddhists con­cerned for Social Justice and World Peace in 1987. He has actively voiced his concerns about various issues related to social justice, democratization, and world peace. He travels extensively and slays in Mexico for one month a year on the average.

Since 1981, the Zen Lotus Society has pub­lished a quanerly journal, Spring Wind - Buddhist Cultural Forum. The Society published a booklet, Zen Buddhism in North America (70 pp.) in 1986. The Zen Lotus Society Handbook (1986) includes a detailed autobiographic sketch of Sumu Sunim and describes activities of the affiliated temples and groups.

Myobong (formerly Daesoo) Sunim is the Dharma disciple of Hyeam Sunim (the last surviv­ing Dharma disciple of the great Zen master Man'gong Sunim) and carries on the work of his teacher at the Neungin Sunwon temple (Hoso Son Academy: Western Son Academy) in Irvine, Cali­fornia." He first came to the United States in 1972. Feeling that his way of teaching Sohn (Zen) was

not going well, he went back to Korea and received Zen training under Hyeam Sunim at the Soodok Sa temple. He returned to the U.S. and established the Neungin Sunwon temple in Mission Viejo in 1980.

When he parted ways with another monk at the temple in 1982, one of his disciples invited him to open a temple in Huntington Beach. The temple moved to rented quarters again in Irvine in 1984.

Myobon Sunim feels that his emphasis on Whadoo (Kong-an: Dharma dialogue) has gained momentum since 1984. He emphasizes the impor­tance of dialogue on an individual basis. So far ten of his disciples have become monks or nuns adopt­ing his methods of Son (Zen). About twenty addi­tional persons are regular members undergoing training at ten Zen groups he has established in California and Texas. Myobong Sunim travels fre­quently to lead Korean Son (Zen) sessions for these groups. He is currently working on a lrans­lation of Iljo Tankyong.

Myobong Sunim feels that the individual encounter through dialogue (Hwadoo) is the best approach to Zen. He regrets that most of the Korean monks and nuns working in the Korean community are not practicing Zen because they have to slIUggle to make a living. He strongly feels that in order for Korean Buddhism to take a firm hold in American soil, this situation must change. Myobong Sunim translated and published a bilin­gual (Korean and English) text on Master Hye­am's Sohn teaching in 1986.·

Simwol Sunim (Julie Hoigaard: Myobong Sunim's first American disciple) is the Abbot of Neungin Sunwon. Its daily programs are coordi­nated by Yongjo Sunim, and Equadorian nun, who became Myobong Sunim's disciple in 1986 and became a nun after that Daewoo Sunim (Ken King) is another regular member of the Sunwon. Daily meditation sessions are held at 10:30 a.m . and 6:00 p.m. Three people are staying in the Sun won. They make a living and contribute to paying the rent by delivering papers in the early morning hours. The Sunday pophoe (they call it the "Retreat") consists of meditation, chanting,

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Dharma talk, and feasting with a vegetarian diet. Approximately 30 people regularly attend the Re­treat. The attendance increases when Myobong Sunim is present, according to Yongjo Sunim.

Seung Sahn Haeng Won Sunim (his foreign diSCiples call him Soen Sa num) has been the most active monk proselytizing Korean Zen Buddhism in North America and Europe. His emphasis on "doing-together" meditation is gaining a wide acceptance among westerners. With his pleasant personality and strong leadership, he is building a strong network to promote Zen Buddhism world­wide.

Seung Sahn Sunim came to America in 1972 at the invitation of Yu Young Soo, a friend and Dong Kuk University alumnus. he started Zen teaching in Kingston, Mass. to a group of college students whom Professor Iong Sun Kim brought. The number of followers grew and he soon moved to Providence, Rhode Island. On October 10, 1972, he established the first Providence Zen Center and the KBC (Korean Buddhist Chogye Order) Hong Poep Won in Providence. This or­ganization oversaw Buddhist groups under his di­rection. Chung Iung Dahr Sunim joined him briefly in Providence. He me( Dr. Leo Pruden al Brown University, who came 10 his aid and provided the translation for his Dharma talks.

Dy 1975 three other Zen centers wereestab­Iished in New York, Cambridge and New Haven all under his leadership. By 1979, five more Zen centers had formed under his direclion. By 1982, approximately 1,000 students were receiving meditation training in ten Zen centers established by him in the United States and Canada. The Head Temple (Providence Zen Center) in rural Cumber­land grew into a respected residential training center and intensive meditation retreats (90-day Kyol Ches) were initiated."

In August 1983, Seung Sahn Sunim founded the new Kwan Urn Zen School in order to accom­modate the western Bodhisattva monks who are married and Dharma teachers who are lay believ­CtS. The membership of the Kwan Urn Zen School

as of 1986 totaled 285, the main body of which consisted of Dharma teachers." The School coor­dinates activities of the 45 Zen centers and groups established under his leadership. Jacob Perl is the abbot and Richard Streitfeld is the director. The School publishes the monthly newsletter and the quarterly journal, Primary PoinL The journal has become an important means for spreading the Seung Sahn's teaching world-wide.

In 1984, the Diamond Hill Zen Monastery was established at the Head Temple complex in Cumberland for the traditional monks who would remain celibate and follow the Korean style of training. As of 1986, there were eight monks and one nun of the School who were leading the lifestyle of the traditional monks of the Korean Chogye Order."

According to Seung Sahn Sunim, 45 Kwan Urn Zen centers and affiliated groups have been established throughout the world: thirteen in the U.S., two in Canada, ten in western Europe, fifteen in Poland,two in Brazil, and three in Korea. Seung Sahn Sunim says that approximately 2,500 Ameri­cans and 1,500 Europeans have received O-Kye (Five Precepts) through these establishments. Ad­ditionally, more that 50,000 people became inter­ested in Buddhism although they have not yet received O-Kye. According to Seung Sahn Sunim approximately 250 Americans, 60 Poles, and 20 Europeans have become I1ban Popsa (Dharma Teacher). Thirty of these are designated as Seondo Popsa, who counsel and teach Ilban Popsa. At the top of the lay leadership is Jido Popsa who acts as Seung Sahn Sunim 's deputy in his absence. Seung Sahn Sunim has given inga, authorization to teach and lead retreats, to eight (seven Americans and one Pole) of his Jido Popsa (Master Dharma Teacher). They travel to different Zen centers of the Kwan Urn Zen School to conduct the Yong­maeng Jongjim (intensive meditation retreat for three to seven days) and lead Kido (Chanting retreat called "energy path")."

The Dharma Sah Zen Center in Los Angeles was established in January 1976 by Seung San

Sunim. The Center is presently located at Clover­dale Ave: a quiet residential neighborhood in West Los Angeles. Lincoln Rhodes came from the KBC Hongpop Won in Providence to establish the Zen center. He was affiliated with MIT when he met Seung Sahn Sunim at the Cambridge Zen Center in 21974. He established a Zen center in New York City under the guidance of Seung Sahn Sunim in 1975.

Lincoln Rhodes is optimistic about the fu­ture of Korean Zen in America because many people are sick of the materialistic orientation of society and are seeking sprituai enlightenment, which Korean Zen offers. According to Rhodes, Americans are interested in Zen for various rea­sons. Some are interested in meditation to sleep well, others to obtain good health, and still others to find and understand themselves. He is not sure about reincarnation nor about the world oCNirvana after death. His main concern is how to live in the present world according to his interview with a Hankook lIbo reporter (4/30{16).

The daily schedule at the Center starts with a 5:30 a.m. meditation; then comes 108 bows at 6:00 a.m., followed by 30 minute chanting (scrip­ture recital) at 6:30 a.m. The morning meditation sessions are attended by three resident disciples and an additional three or four people from the outside. Kong-an sessions (intensive interviews with master Dharma teachers) are held on Wednes­days. There are 12 regular memhers participating in Wednesday sessions. Altogether, about 20 people (including irregular members) attend the Wednesday sessions. Their activities include meditation, testimonial, chanting, and Dharma talks. Most of the people attending the meditation sessions are Americans."

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Intensive meditation sessions (y ong Maeng Jung Jin) are held from time to time in Seung Sahn's meditation centers. It is a three- or seven­day retreat involving 13 hours of formal medita­tion practice a day. Although iIle emphasis is on sitting meditation, the programs include bowing, sitting, chanting, eating, and working. Interviews

with the Master Dharma Teacher or Seung Sabn Sunim are conducted during the retreat"

Seong Sabn Sunim visited Poland in 1978 and established the first Chogyc Zen Center in that country. In the opening ceremony 16 people re­ceived the O-Kye (Habkook Ilbo, May 19, 1978).

Scong Sabn Sunim 's Korean style of teach­ing Zen is earthy, syncretic and vigorous, accord­ing to Sarnu Sunim, a Korean Zen teacher based in Toronto and Ann Arbor. Some describe Seong Sahn Sunim 's method as an assimilated form suit­able to the American setting, combining both Korean and Japanese ways oC meditation.

Seung Sabn Sunim's disCiples include some Koreans,but a great majority of his followers are Westerners. Altogether, 11 Koreans (including two second-generation Koreans) now hold the title of Popsa according to Seung Sabn Sunim.

Six books have been published in English bearing Seung Sahn Sunim's name: Only Doing It for Sixty Years; Dropping Ashes on the Buddha; Only Don't KnoW; Bone of Space; Ten Gate; and Compass of Zen Teaching.

RESEARCH AND TEACHING ON KOREAN BUDDHISM IN AMERICA

An important route by which Korean Bud­dhism is being transmitted to America is by way of research and teaching in universities and colleges. Several scholars are making significant contribu­tions in this respect and are slowly building a solid theoretical foundation of Korean Buddhism in America.

Park Sung Bac, Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from U.C. Berkeley (1979), is a professor and Director of the Korean Studies Program at the University of New York at Stony Broolc:. He teaches courses on "Buddhism," "Religious Tradi­tions in Korea and Japan," and "Introduction to Korean Culture." He has incorporated Korean Buddhism (its history, the theories of Won Hyo, Jinul, Sosan, and Han Yong Woon, Buddhist arts, and Son Schools) in these courses. He also directs a graduate seminar, "Readings on Korean Bud-

dhism." His book, Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment (SUNY Press, 1983), has been popular as a texlbook in many universities. He co­amhored with Lewis Lancaster at U.C. Berkeley the book, Descriptive Cal8logue to Korean Canon (University of California Press, 1979). He has another completed work, Won Hyo: HisCommen­/aries On Awakening of Mahayana Faith, which will be published soon by SUNY Press.

In addition to these scholarly activities, Professor Park has been actively involved in promoting Buddhism in Korean communities on the West and East Coasts. He has delivered hun­dreds of lectures and talks on Korean Buddhism to Korean community groups since he arrived in the United States in 1969. He has been a leading member of the Won KakSa temple in New York. For several years, he led the general pophoe at the temple every second Sunday of the month.

Robert Buswell, also a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from U.C. Berkeley, is one of Kusan Sunim's foreign diSCiples who has become a productive Buddhist scholar. So far U.C. Berkeley has produced two Ph.D.' s in Buddhist studies with topics on Korean Buddhism. Robert Buswell is presently a professor at the University of Califor­nia, Los Angeles. At UCLA he has developed and taught courses on Korean Buddhism: an upper division lecture class on Korean Buddhism, and a graduate seminar on Readings on Korean Bud­dhism. These are probably the fi1l)t and only courses on Korean Buddhism ever offered as a regular curriculum in American universities. Cho Seong Taek is a Ph.D. candidate in Korean Bud­dhism working under his supervision."

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ProCessor Buswell's The Korean Approach to Zen: the Collected Works of Chinul was pub­lished in 1983 by the University of Hawaii Press. The book is the most important work to appear in English on Korean Zen Buddhism." His other book, Vajrasamadhi Sutra and the Origins of Ch 'an: A Korean Apocrython and Sinification of Buddhism, is to be published in 1989.

Professor Kim Kusan is another Korean who

has taught Korean Buddhism in an American university. He taught a course on Korean Bud­dhism to American and Third World students at the University of Oriental Studies, Los Angeles from 1981 10 1983, when the school was closed for internal strife." Since early 1980's Professor Kim has been a regular lecturer on Indian philosophy and Korean Buddhism at Buddhist lecture series sponsored by the Kwan Um Sa temple.

BUDDIDST TEMPLES IN THE LOS ANGELES KOREAN COMMUNITY

The appearance of Buddhist temples in Los Angeles coincides with the growth of Koreatown in the early 1970's. Korean immigrants were arriving in KorealOwn in large numbers, and for the fIrst time monks were able to visit the United States in signifIcant numbers. Soon afterwards

KOREAN TEMPLES AND ZEN CENTERS IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA, 1988

NAME YEAR STARTED ABBOT ORDER POPHOE

Korean Temples

Sam Bo Sa' 1972 Mrs. Han Sang Lee ChoGye Yes Won Bul Kyo 1972 Rev. Suh Se In Won Bul Kyo Yes Dahl Mah Sa 1973 Rev. Jung Do Cho Gye Yes KwanUm Sa 1974 Rev. Do Ahn Cho Gye Yes Soo Doh Sa 1976 Rev. Kae Jeung Cho Gye Yes Jung Hye Sa' 1980 Rev. J ung Dhar Cho Gye Yes Korea Sa 1980 Rev. HyunHo ChoGye Yes Ban Ya Sa 1981 Rev. Pyong II Cho Gye Yes Bo Moon Sa 1981 Rev. In Kwon BoMoon Yes Hae In Sa 1981 Mrs. Mu Jin Dung Cho Gye No Bop HwaHong Tong Won 1981 Rev. Won Kyung BopHwa Yes Bop Ryun Sa' 1985 Rev. Sui Song TaeGo No Moon Soo Chung Sa 1985 Rev. Kyung Duk Cho Gye Yes Bop Wang Sa' 1986 Rev. Hyun 11 Cho Gye Yes Dae Sung Sa 1987 Rev. Kwon Pob In ChoGye Yes BoKwangWon 1988 Rev. Park long Mae Cho Gye Yes Yun Hwa Sa 1988 Rev. Myung Soo Cho Gye Yes

Zen Centers

Dharma Sa 1976 Rev. Seung Sahn Kwan Urn Zen School

Hoso Son Academy 1980 Rev. Myo-bong Cho Gye

1: in Carmel City 2-5: in Orange County

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Buddhist groups began to establish temples. The first Korean Buddhist temple estab­

lished in Los Angeles was Dahl Ma Sa, which opened on February I, 1973. Out of this temple have eventually sprung some 15 temples serving the Korean community in Los Angeles.

While activities of Zen centers targeting Westerners are focused on sitting meditation, eth­nic temples are largely centered around Sunday pophoe, scripture studies, ceremonies, chanting, cultural, social, and fellowship activities. In con­trast to the American emphasis on meditation, Ko­rean practice is much more devotional and relig­ious. Sunday pophoe attendance at Kwan Um Sa and Dahl Ma Sa temples averages more than 100 adults. The attendance at Pyong Hwa Sa, 500 Do Sa, Korea Sa, Jung HaeSa, Pop Wang Sa, and Won Bul Kyo temples numbers between 50 and 100. Because of the Korean Buddhist tradition of not requiring members to attend Sunday services regu­larly, the pophoe attendance averages only about one fifth of the registered members. Regular atten­dants tend to be mostly officers and their families. General members attend the pophoe only occa­Sionally and others attend on special occasions only. Some members never attend. On special oc­casions such as Buddha's birthday, therefore, several hundred worshipers flock to rheir respec­tive temples.

The membership of Los Angeles temples has increased rapidly in recent years, and some former Buddhists who were attending Christian churches are now returning to Buddhist temples. For example, about 30 percent of rhe current membership in the Kwan Um Sa temple are former attendants of Christian churches, according to Do Ahn Sunim. About 20 percent of rhe members at Pyong Hwa Sa (Abbot: Sung Do Sunim) are former Christians, according to the abbot The membership of Pyong Hwa Sa increased from 60 families in 1985 to 200 families at rhe end of 1987. K wan Um Sa's membership was increasing by 150 families a year recently and now it has reached 670 families.

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Until a few years ago all rhe temples in Los Angeles were using an apartment or single dwell­ing originally designed for residential use. The situation changed drastically when Dahl Ma Sa completed a spacious Korean-style bop dang (1986) and Kwan Um Sa purchased a large temple formerly used as a Jewish synagogue (1986). Dahl Ma Sa's Korean-style popdang is conspicuous in the middle of Koreatown, at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Wilton Avenue. Many local and national Buddhistevents take place in rhe various meeting halls of rhe Kwan Um Sa temple, which occupies 37,000 square feet of floor space. Korea Sa, a Los Angeles branch of Song Kwang Sa, recently purchased a three-building complex (two two-story and one single-story building) at Ingraham Street. On the other hand, most other temples still use apartment buildings and experi­ence problems related to zoning regulations.

Since 1974, Kun Sunims and orher Buddhist scholars from Korea have given Dharma talks and lectures at Korean temples." These talks and lec­tures provide unique opportunities for Southern California Koreans, borh believers and non-believ­ers, to hear the great monks of Korea. Sometimes several hundred Koreans flock to hear such talks. Bop Jung Sunim's appearance at rhe Hankook Ilbo auditorium on January 21, 1988, for example, drew a crowd of nearly live hundred.

Buddhistcultural festivals, lotus lantern fes­tivals, musical events, Dharma painting and callig­raphy exhibitions take place in parks, theaters, and galleries of Koreatown at frequent intervals throughout rhe year. The International Buddhist cultural festival was held in early 1988 at the Wilshire Ebel Theater and drew several hundred people. The festival was sponsored by Kwan Urn Sa; six different national Buddhist groups took part, presenting their traditional music and dance. Buddhist study seminars are regularly held at Kwan Um Sa. A locally-based Buddhist newspa­per, Mijoo Bulkyo, is also published, alrhough at irregular intervals. Articles and news items related to Buddhist programs and activities frequently

appear in local community newspapers. Several temples maintain Korean language

and cultural programs and provide many types of social services such as family counseling and senior citizen support. Sunday school programs for children are being attempted at Dahl Ma Sa, Kwan Urn Sa and Pyong Hwa Sa. The Federation of Young Buddhists meets regularly for pophoe and scripture study. Sunims contribute Dharma essays to local Korean newspapers and have been active in voicing concern about social justice and democ­ratization in Korea.

The abbot Do Abn of Kwan Urn Sa has been the leading monk in the Buddhist community of Los Angeles. He frequently contributes Dharma essays to local Korean newspapers and magazines and publishes a Buddhist journal, BuI Kyo Si Bo (The Buddhist Times). He was instrumental in raising funds to purchase tile $800,000 former Jewish synagogue and convert it into a spacious temple, which houses tile Buddhist Culture Center. He has actively promoted Buddhist culture in the community by sponsoring Buddhist music, dance and art festivals in the theaters and galleries of Koreatown since tile early 1980's.

Do Abo Sunim was elected co-chair of the American Buddhist Congress at its fltSt conven­tion hosted by the temple in November 1987. Other co-chairs elected were the Rev. Karl Sprin­ger of Boulder, Colo., and tile Venerable Havan­pola Ratanasara, a Sri Lankan monk living in Los Angeles. The convention represented some fifty Buddhist groups in the United States.

Abbot Do Abn attributes the rapid growth of Korean Buddhist temples to the general increase in the size of the Korean population in Los Angeles and also to the modernization of activities at the temples. The abbot notes that church membership increased rapidly after he initiated several social service and family counseling programs, including marriage and youth counseling, hospital arrange­ment, hospital visits, arrangement for Social Secu­rity benefits, etc. The church's van provides trans­portation for the elderly members. The temple

operates with an annual budget of $120,000, most of which is expended for tile temple's programs. The abbot lives in the temple and does not receive a salary.

Under Abbot Do Abn's leadership, Kwan Urn Sa has sponsored a regular lecture series on Korean Buddhism starting in May 1980. The series were held once ortwice a year, each lasting for one to three months. The 1980 series, which lasted three weeks, featured Professor Park Sung Bae (Buddhist scholar), Lee Nung Ka Dae Seonsa (Dharma master), and Dr. Ha Tai Kim (Methodist minister and scholar). The 1988 series lasted for three months witlliectnres given every Friday, Sat­urday, and Sunday for three hours each day. Shin Popta Sunim, Moo lin Jang Sunim, and Professor Kim Kusan were regular lecturers and guest lectur­ers included Popjung Sunim, Professor Park Sung Bac, Professor Lee Young Moo, and Chung Kwan Ung Seon Sa Nim. The curriculum dealt with Buddha's life, the history of Korean Buddhism, Indian philosophy, early Buddhism, thought of Won Hyo and Jinool, Buddhist theories, and Kye Yool.

The Sunday pophoe in Korean temples is very much informal compared to Christian church services. People move in and out at ease through­out the service. The service normally consists of hour-long chanting by priests, several Buddhist hymns, scripture recital, yombul, and sennon. Daejoong Kongyang (fellowship lunch) follows the Sunday service in many temples. Most of the temples lack serious meditation programs, al­though a few are struggling to establish them.

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CHALLENGES AND PROMISES

Korean Buddhism is slowly but firmly tak­ing root in American soil. Through tile works of Zen masters, Buddhist scholars, and monks work­ing in the Korean community, the central message of Buddhism imbedded in Korean tIloughtand cui­ture-harmony, nonaggression, compassion and benevolence to all beings-is gradually being

uansplanted to this new land. The number of Zen centers and temples spreading this message has increased to an impressive level and a growing number of Americans and Koreans are accepting this message.

There are, however, many problems and challenges that the Korean Buddhist body in America faces. The most serious lies in the crea­tion of an effective organizational structure that can plan, coordinate, regulate, and improve Bud­dhist programs and activities. At the present time, most oC the Korean Buddhist activities in the United States are conducted on an individual basis. Some individuals have shown remarlcable strength in building their congregations, but there is no or­ganizational network coordinating the works of Zen masters, monks in ethnic temples, and schol­ars. Many oC the temples claim to be affiliated with the Korean Buddhist Cho Gye Order, but there is no formal connection between individual temples and the Order in Korea. Consequently, practices, behavior, and view of individual monks, Zen masters, and lay members are not being evaluated or regulated.

Another challenge lies with the developing of a legitimate credential system for monks and lay leaders working in the Korean community. There is no agency or organization regulating the stan­dard of conduct or the qualification of monks. Almost anybody can claim to be a monk and establish a temple. As a result, some of those claiming to be monks do not have any formal uaining. In fact, there are some establishments in Los Angeles that practice something quite differ­ent from Buddhism.

There is also a need to provide monks the opportunity to adjust to the new situation in Amer­ica. A majority oC Koreans in the United States are college graduates and unless the monks' education level is at least on a par with them, it will be difficult to deal with the general public. Much of the conflict between priests and lay leaders in Korean temples is partly due to this discrepancy. Further, most of the monks serving Korean com-

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munity temples do not speak English adequately and they cannot relate to the English-speaking younger generations.

Still another problem is related to the level of commibnent of some of the monks working in the Korean community. Most of them came to the U.S. for purposes other than administering temples. Therefore, when they encounter prob­lems, many simply leave the temple instead of trying to find a constructive solution. About 50 monks have left the priesthood after receiving the youngjookwon (permanent residenceship), ac­cording to an abbot of a Korean temple. In Los Angeles alone, there are about ten such former monks.

Additionally, there is a need to reach second generation Koreans and train some of them as monks or lay leaders; but uaining facilities are totally lacking. Developing an effective training program for lay leadership may be a practical alternative for this problem (like Scung Sahn Sunim 's Zen centers). Second generation Koreans growing up in the U.S. would probably be more interested in meditation rather than the religious orientation of their parents and future programs designed to reach the young generation should incorporate meditation training.

Traditionally, the development and opera­tion of programs at Buddhist temples is entirely left to the priests and lay participation has gener­ally been limited. The rise and decline of a temple is attributable for the most part to the monk's in­dividual ability. This uadition of temple operation tends to discourage many able lay people from actively involving themselves in church programs. Therefore, the modernization of the organizational slructure of individual temples remains another big challenge.

Financial difficulties often force monks to engage in menial labor, particularly in the begin­ning of temple establishment Consequently their images have been negatively affected. Sometimes, monks are not decently treated by lay leaders. Under these circumstances, able monks are dis-

couraged from coming to serve the Korean com­munity. According to an abbot, there are not many incentives for able monks to immigrate to the United States to work in the Korean community.

If these challenges are adequately dealt with, the future of Korean Buddhism in America appears to be bright.

FOOTNOTES

1. 1986-1987 Korean Business Directory published by The Korea Times Los Angeles lists 339 Christian churches, 10 Buddhist temples, 32 newspapers, and 131 organizations. Figures given here are the author's estimates based on informa­tion from various community sources.

2. Ilsoo Kim, New Urban Immigrants: The Korean Community in New York, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981).

3. Won Moo Hurh and Kwang Chung Kim, Korean Immigrants in America (Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984); Bok Lim C. Kim, The Korean-American Child at School and at Home (Urbana,lllinois, 1980); Eui­Young Yu, etal., eds, Koreans in Los Angelcs(Los Angeles: Center for Korean-American and Korean Studies, California State University, 1981).

4. The survey covered 301 Korean house­holds randomly selected from telephone directo­ries of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The author was a co·director of the survey.

5. According to Abbot Do Abn Sunim of the Kwan Urn Sab temple in Los Angeles.

6. Telephone interview with Park Sung Bae, March 1988.

7. Interview wilh Iinwol Sunim, November 11, 1987.

8. They are Soo Kyungbo Sunim (Temple University), Professor Park Sung Bae (UC Berkeley), Professor Robert Buswell (UC Berkeley), and Bop An Sunim (from New York University).

9. loong Ang Ilbo, May 5, 1984.

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10. loong Ang llbo, May 5, 1984. II. Sam-Woo Kim, Zen Buddhism in North

America (Toronto: Zen Lotus Society, 1986) p. 18. 12. Sam-Woo Kim, Zen Buddhism in North

America (Toronto: Zen Lotus Society, 19860, p. 21; Kusan Sunim, The Way of Korean Zen (New York: Heatherhill, 1985), p. 49.

13. Kusan Sunim, The Way of Korean Zen, tr. by Martine Fages and ed. by Stephen Batchelor (New York: Weatherhill, 19850. pp. 49-50.

14. Telephone interview with Samu Sunim, March 1988.

15. Sam-Woo Kim, pp. 26·28. 16. Interview with S udha Sunim, March

1988. 17. Sam-Woo Kim, Zen Buddhism in North

America, p. 28. Also telephone interview with Samu Sunim, March 1988.

18. Interview with Samu Sunim, March 1988.

19. Sam-Woo Kim, Zen Buddhism in North America, p. 29.

20. Hye-am Sunim ed., Gateway to Son (Ch'an) (translated by Myobong Sunim) (Irvine: Hoso Son Academy, 1986), 360 pp.

21. Diana Clark, ed., Only Doing llfor Sixty year;y (Cumberland, Rhode Island: K wan Urn Zen School, 1987), p. 31.

22. Sam-Woo Kim, Zen Buddhism in North America, pp. 21-26.

23. Sam-Woo Kim, p. 26. 24. Sam-Woo Kim, Zen Buddhism in North

America (Toronto: The Zen Lotus Society, 1986), p.26.

25. Interview with Roonald Ross, March 1988.

26. Seung Sahn, Only Don't Know (San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1982), p. 192.

27. Telephone interview with Professor Robert Buswell, March 1988.

28. Sam-Woo Sunim, p. 21. 29. Interview with Professor Kim Kusan,

March 1988.

30. They included Seung Sahn Sunim, Kusan Sunim, Seo Kyungbo Sunim, Yun Koam Sunim, Pop lung Sunim, Sohn Kyong San Sunim,

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Chung Kwan Ung Sunim, Moo lin lang Sunim, Park Wan II Kosa, Lee Nung Ka Dae Seonsa, and Professor Park Sung Bae.